Army Zombie

The Army Zombie is one of the freak-type zombies encountered in State of Decay. They are the undead remains of the United States Army unit deployed to Trumbull Valley. They have an overall look similar to the SWAT Zombie, with uniform, bulky body armor, knee and elbow pads and a helmet. However, while SWAT zombies have charcoal uniform and black armor, Army zombies have mottled green uniform, body armor and helmet (similar to CADPAT camouflage). Another difference is their movement patterns; while SWAT zombies move slowly and never run, Army Zombies are fast (which could be related to stricter military fitness requirements in comparison to police), and always sprint to attack the survivors when alerted.

Army zombies do not appear until after the mission Sgt. Erik Tan has been completed. Once the bridges to the Trumbull County Fairgrounds are open, Army zombies become very common throughout Trumbull Valley. They can also appear near existing hordes and will attack along with the horde if alerted to a survivor's presence. They can spawn anywhere, but are more common near the fairgrounds.

In the Breakdown DLC, they are far more common and have virtually replaced the SWAT zombie as the "armored" freak. SWAT zombies now only appear in zed hunt missions. At later Breakdown levels, they are by and far the most common special zombie, appearing 15-30 times more often. At Level 5 and above, it is not unusual to encounter 4-6 at a time.

Zed Hunt missions for Army zombies also begin to appear, and properly labeled as "Army Zed hunt". Army zombie hunts may involve multiple zeds, unlike all other freak zombie hunts.

Despite the armor they wear, Army zombies have no special combat abilities. Unlike the lumbering SWAT zombie, however, Army zombies are very fast-moving, so even if it appears to be at a safe distance, it can cover a great deal of ground quickly and attack unexpectedly. Once it has closed to melee range with a survivor, the Army zombie unleashes a series of rapid pummeling attacks which can be countered depending upon the survivor's training.

Special combat consideration is only warranted for survivors who tend to rely on firearms for combat.

Melee combat with an Army zombie is little different than that with a SWAT zombie; the army-issue armor is not significantly different except in appearance, making the zombie highly resistant to small-arms fire. While not entirely immune to gunfire, the effectiveness of firearms is sharply reduced, making their use prohibitively wasteful.

Special attention should be paid to the Army zombie's speed, however; with the exception of a Feral, Army zeds are among the fastest encountered.

An effective combat strategy is to allow the zombie to close the distance rather than rushing it, then immediately striking as soon as it is in range.

Like any normal zombie, Army zombies are vulnerable to vehicle strike. As always, striking the zombie (or zombies) while driving in reverse will limit the amount of damage to the vehicle mainly to cosmetic issues unless the vehicle is particularly heavily used.